107th Pioneers (Indian Army)

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Guys,

Have recently bought a medal to 1549 Sepoy Hazrat Shah 107th Pioneers. I know that researching Sepoys is next to impossible, but was wondering if anyone on the forum has any knowledge of his unit and there involvement in the 3rd Afgan War. I`ve checked for a medal index card for him, and he doesn`t appear to served during the Great War. So I am assuming he was a new recruit.

Many thanks in advance.

Gordon.

[peter monahan]

Gordon

L.L. Gordon's British Battles and Medals,once the standard reference for British medals and bars does list the 1/107th as serving in the Third Afghan War. Gordon often omitted at least some Indian units from the lists in early editions of the book, so if he does include them its a safe bet they were there. Mind you, he lists multiple battalions of all 11 Gurkha regiments and over 60 infantry units, including States Forces AND the RAF. 12,500 bars in all, so it was a big bash!

Naval and Military Press is offering the official history for L18. Here's the blurb:

Official history of the 1919 Third Afghan War

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The Third Afghan War was fought in the wake of the Great War, when Amanullah, Afghanistan's Amir (ruler), aided by Pashtun (Pathan) tribal allies, and emboldened by an alliance with the new Bolshevik regime in Russia, took advantage of Britain's post-Great War weariness and nationalist unrest in India itself, to launch two surprise strikes into the North-West frontier region of British India in May 1919. The short-lived war that followed saw Britain check the thrusts and launch a counter strike in Baluchistan which took the town of Dakka. Britain also launched air-raids on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the city of Jalalabad. The war ended in stalemate, and Britain granted autonomy in foreign affairs to the Afghanis in the Treaty of Rawalpindi. In the fighting, British and Indian Army troops lost nearly 2,000 men, many of them to cholera, while Afghani losses were estimated at 3,000. This official history gives a detailed account of the military action, the lead-up to, causes and course of the war and its lessons. It is illustrated by particularly fine and detailed colour maps and has an appendix of British Army units invloved in the war.

Peter

Edited July 6, 2011 by peter monahan

[peter monahan]

This website - http://www.reubique.com/IndPnrs.htm - gives a list of medals to various Indian Pioneer units, including 6 men of the 107th. Of particular interest is Private Francis D. Souza - almost certainly an Indian Christian from Goa and, as such, not commonly enlisted in regular Indian Army units.

Peter

[bigjarofwasps]

Thanks Peter, that makes interesting reading, Gordon.